She had indeed received help from these people, and even if the price for that help was to be tormented, she was willing to endure it—she would treat it as her way of repaying this kindness.
After all, in her previous life of wandering, she had suffered from freezing cold and starvation, living a precarious existence where every day could be her last. Now, being able to eat her fill and wear warm clothes in a cozy place—even if only for a short time—meant she was already satisfied to have a period of stability before being tormented to death.
Su Mu, naturally, was unaware of the tragic speculations swirling in Sylphie's mind. Seeing that she had accepted the invitation, he immediately checked her status panel.
Her initial favorability was actually 23 points. Such a value was already quite high; it was likely due to Sylphie's inherently pure nature and the fact that she was deeply grateful to them.
As for her attributes, Strength, Constitution, and Agility were all at a mere 2 points. This was actually a slight improvement after drinking the millet porridge and becoming a tenant; previously, they must have been even lower. However, her Intelligence attribute was as high as 50 points—a staggering five times the limit of an ordinary person.
But no matter how high one's Intelligence was, without the corresponding skills to anchor and utilize it, it was ultimately just for show.
Fortunately, now that she was an apartment tenant, combined with the mechanic of items dropping from monsters, it wasn't impossible for her to grow into a true mage in the future. With such top-tier initial Intelligence, the moment she learned relevant magic skills, she could immediately convert them into formidable combat power.
"Well then, welcome to the apartment as a tenant." Su Mu walked over to Sylphie and leaned down slightly, his tone gentle. "I am the manager of this apartment, Su Mu. And you? What is your name?"
"I... my name is... Sylphie..."
Sylphie looked up slightly, her gaze darting away. Her voice was still tinged with cowardice, and her emerald hair hung by the side of her face, concealing the tips of her reddened ears.
"Sylphie? That's a very lovely name." Su Mu praised her with a smile, then turned to look at March 7th. "March mentioned that you're an orphan? Who gave you that name?"
"March is calling me!" March 7th immediately leaned in, waving her hand enthusiastically with a bright smile. "My name is March 7th! I'm the one who let you in just now!"
Sylphie looked timidly at March 7th and nodded lightly, responding in a faint voice, "H-hello... the name... Sister Doris gave it to me..."
"Sister Doris?"
Su Mu's heart stirred as he pondered the name—could it be Doris-Tina?
"Mm." Sylphie nodded gently. Fearing that they might misunderstand Doris, she hurriedly added, "Sister Doris is... a thief, but she's a good thief! Many orphans like me have been helped by her."
She spoke urgently, her eyes full of earnestness, desperate to clear Doris's name.
"I believe you. Take your time."
Su Mu nodded with a smile, his tone gentle. He offered her enough encouragement so that she didn't feel the need to rush her explanation.
Sylphie blushed slightly and lowered her head, her fingers lightly twining around her skirt as she spoke slowly. "Sister Doris said she used to be a noble of the Asura Kingdom. When she was very young, because of the power struggles within the royal family, her family was discarded and exiled. On the way out of the capital, they were attacked. In the end, only Sister Doris survived under the protection of her parents and guards. Later, she became a thief. She said she took us orphans in to seek revenge... but we all knew Sister Doris was a very good person. She never truly hurt innocent people."
"If that's the case, how did you end up alone outside Roa? Shouldn't you be with Sister Doris and the others?"
Su Mu followed up with a question at the right moment, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity and a touch of investigation.
At the mention of this, Sylphie's mood plummeted. Her eyes dimmed significantly, and her voice carried an undisguisable sadness. "It was because of the Kingdom's soldiers... Not long after Sister Doris took us in, the soldiers found our hiding spot. Sister Doris told us to scatter and run while she drew the soldiers away... After that, I wandered while looking for her and the others. I've searched for a long time but found no news of them. Plus, because of my hair color... they wouldn't let me into the cities, so I could only roam the outskirts."
Su Mu understood.
It seemed Sylphie had met Doris when she was a few years old and received her name after being taken in. But her stable life didn't last long before they were hunted by the soldiers. To protect the children, Doris took the initiative to lead the pursuers away, causing the children to be scattered once again to begin their lives as vagrants.
After finishing her story, Sylphie looked up slightly. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but as the words reached her tongue, she jerked her head back down. Her fingers tightened their grip on her skirt, her face a mask of hesitation and unease.
Su Mu caught her subtle movements and had already guessed what she was thinking.
He spoke softly, his voice kind. "You still want to find Sister Doris and your other companions, don't you?"
Hearing this, Sylphie snapped her head up. A light instantly ignited in her eyes, and she nodded frantically. "Y-yes!"
She bit her lip, her face full of struggle. She was desperate for help, yet felt it was too presumptuous to ask. But this was her only chance. Finally, she gathered her courage, her voice trembling as she pleaded, "P-please, help me... I... I will repay you... N-no, you don't have to wait for me to get healthy... we can do it now... I won't resist..."
As her words fell, Sylphie slowly closed her eyes, her body tensing up. She had already prepared herself to be tormented.
As long as she could find her companions—even if she had to endure pain, even if she could only see them one last time—she was willing to do it.
Su Mu fell silent for a moment. He turned to look at the others around him, his tone filled with helplessness. "Uh... did something we said earlier cause her to misunderstand something?"
"Does she actually know what 'torment' means?" March 7th scratched her head, looking utterly perplexed. "Or did Doris tell her about that kind of stuff?"
"Sylphie said Doris was exiled when she was little, but we don't know if 'little' means before or after the age of eight," Himeko murmured, her brows furrowing as she analyzed the situation. "However, given the behavioral patterns of many nobles in the capital as seen in the original story, even if Doris was under eight, there's a high probability she heard about those dark things. Furthermore, this world isn't the original story; there are bound to be differences in the details. We can't generalize based on the original setting."
Fu Hua added her thoughts at the appropriate time. "Mm. It's also possible she heard about it herself while wandering. News travels fast among vagrants. Since she's been on her own for so long, it wouldn't be surprising if she heard about such things."
"I say, thinking about it too much won't help. The key is what to do now." Hu Tao spread her hands, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she looked at Su Mu. Her tone was full of teasing. "Darling~ are you going to accept Sylphie's gratitude?"
────────────────────────────────────────
Support me here: https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Spring Sale Special – 20% OFF!
Crossover World: Why Are All My Clones Beautiful Girls?
Join the journey and become part of the story!
────────────────────────────────────────